Storage and serving cart

ABSTRACT

A storage and serving cart includes a cabinet assembly having a base member and a plurality of side panels. A tabletop insert is disposed above an upper surface of the cabinet assembly where the tabletop insert is a laminate structure having first and second sides each of a different material. The tabletop insert is reversibly positionable to have either the first or second side facing upwardly from the cabinet assembly.

BACKGROUND

Carts are often used to store a variety of items that a person may useoccasionally or may need to perform a particular task (e.g.,storing/transporting tools, food items, cleaning supplies, etc.). Thesecarts sometimes have wheels or rollers to facilitate theirtransportability. Although some carts may be open-air carts (i.e.,carted items are readily visible), some carts may contain enclosedstorage compartments (e.g., drawers, doors, etc.).

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a storage and servingcart includes a cabinet assembly having a base member having a pluralityof wheels coupled to a lower portion thereof, and a plurality of sidepanels each having a first end coupled to the base member where the sidepanels extend upwardly from the base member having a second end thereofcoupled to a tabletop. One or more doors are movably coupled to thecabinet assembly. The base member, tabletop, side panels, and doors forman internal storage cavity. The tabletop includes an opening disposedover the internal storage cavity. A tabletop insert being a laminatestructure has first and second sides each of a different material and isreversibly positionable within the opening to have either the first orsecond side facing upwardly from the tabletop.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage andserving cart includes a cabinet assembly having an internal storagecavity with a plurality of wheels coupled to a lower portion thereof. Atabletop with an opening therethrough is coupled to an upper surface ofthe cabinet assembly. A tabletop insert being a laminate structurehaving first and second sides each of a different material is reversiblypositionable within the opening to have either the first or second sidefacing upwardly from the tabletop. The tabletop insert also including anopening therethrough.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage andserving cart includes a cabinet assembly having a base member having aplurality of wheels coupled to a lower portion thereof, and a pluralityof side panels each having a first end coupled to the base member wherethe side panels extend upwardly from the base member having a second endthereof coupled to a tabletop. One or more doors are movably coupled tothe cabinet assembly. The base member, tabletop, side panels, and doorsform an internal storage cavity. The tabletop includes a mediallylocated opening extending therethrough and disposed over the internalstorage cavity. The tabletop also includes first and second distalopenings extending therethrough and located beyond a periphery of thecabinet assembly. A laminate tabletop insert having a first metallicside and a second non-metallic side is reversibly positionable withinthe medially located opening to have either the first or second sidefacing upwardly from the tabletop. The tabletop insert also includes anopening extending therethrough and located proximate to and spaced apartfrom a distal end of the tabletop insert.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present application, theobjects and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the followingdescriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a top perspective view of a storage andserving cart according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating another top perspective view of thestorage and serving cart of FIG. 1 according to the present disclosurewith various items omitted from view; and

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an enlarged view of a tabletop insertof the storage and serving cart of FIGS. 1 and 2 according to thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a storage and serving cartthat may be used to perform a variety of functions and/or meet a varietyof needs. According to one embodiment, a cart includes a tabletop and acabinet assembly. The cabinet assembly has a base member having aplurality of wheels coupled to a lower portion thereof, and a pluralityof side panels each having a first end coupled to the base member wherethe side panels extend upwardly from the base member having a second endthereof coupled to the tabletop. One or more doors may be movablycoupled to the cabinet assembly. The base member, tabletop, side panels,and doors form an internal storage cavity. The tabletop includes anopening disposed over the internal storage cavity. A tabletop insertbeing a laminate structure has first and second sides each of adifferent material where the tabletop insert is reversibly positionablewithin the opening to have either the first or second side facingupwardly from the tabletop. In some embodiments, the tabletop insert mayhave a metallic side and a non-metallic side, and in some embodimentstabletop insert may also have an opening extending therethrough into thestorage cavity to facilitate the removal of items from an upwardlyfacing surface of the tabletop insert.

With reference now to the Figures and in particular with reference toFIGS. 1-3, diagrams illustrating a cart 10 according to the presentdisclosure is illustrated. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a topperspective view of a storage and serving cart according to the presentdisclosure; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating another top perspectiveview of the storage and serving cart of FIG. 1 according to the presentdisclosure with various items omitted from view; and FIG. 3 is a diagramillustrating an enlarged view of a tabletop insert of the storage andserving cart of FIGS. 1 and 2 according to the present disclosure.

In the illustrated embodiment, cart 10 is configured having a generallyrectangular shape. However, it should be understood that cart 10 may bedifferently configured having other shapes (e.g., elliptical, round,square, etc.). In the illustrated embodiment, cart 10 includes a cabinetassembly 12 for creating/providing an internal and/or closable storagecavity 14. In the illustrated embodiment, assembly 12 includes a basemember 16, a left side panel 18, a right side panel 20, and a rear orback side panel 22. Panels 18, 20, and 22 may each be formed as asingle, unitary element or may be formed from multiple elements (e.g.,multiple side-by-side panel elements secured adjacent to each other). Inthe illustrated embodiment, each panel 18, 20, and 22 has a lower endthereof coupled to the base member 16, and each panel 18, 20, and 22extends vertically upward having a second end thereof coupled to atabletop 24.

One or more support elements 26 may also be included in assembly 12 toprovide a desired rigidity, strength, and/or storage adaptability. Forexample, in the illustrated embodiment, a single support element 26 islocated vertically at a medial location within storage cavity 14extending vertically from base member 16 to tabletop 24. Support element26 provides support for tabletop 24 while also serving as an attachmentstructure for various storage items. For example, in the illustratedembodiment, assembly 12 includes a removable divider 28 beinghorizontally positioned within storage cavity between support element 26and right panel 20 to vertically separate or divide a vertical storagecavity 14 space into two smaller-sized storage cavity 14 spaces. One ormore removable and/or slidable storage baskets and/or containers 30 arelocated within cavity 14 and extend horizontally from support element 26to left side panel 18 such that containers 30 may be slid outwardly fromstorage cavity 14 in the direction indicated by 32 and slid inwardly inreverse thereto. In FIG. 1, a removable beverage rack/holder 40 and aremovable container/tray 42 are also located within storage cavity 14located above divider 28 and between support element 26 and right sidepanel 20. Holder 40 may be used to hold and/or store various types ofbottles, cans, or other types of beverage/liquid containers. In theillustrated embodiment, tray 42 may be slid outwardly in the direction32 and removed from cart 10 and slid inwardly in a reverse direction toreturn tray 42 to being within storage cavity 14. In the illustratedembodiment, tray 42 is configured having an elongate shape in the formof an open-sided trapezoid; however, it should be understood that tray42 may be otherwise configured.

In the illustrated embodiment, one or more doors 50 are movably coupledto a forward-facing side of cabinet assembly 12 such that doors 50 (whenclosed) in combination with base member 16, panels 18, 20, and 22, andtabletop 24 form an internal and closable storage cavity 14 (i.e., itemswithin storage cavity 14 may be protected from the environment and/or beotherwise hidden from view). In the illustrated embodiment, each door 50is movably coupled to cabinet assembly 12 via a pair of hinges; however,it should be understood that doors 50 may be otherwise coupled tocabinet assembly 12. Further, it should be understood that other typesof closable elements may be used (e.g., sliding doors, a drape, etc.).In the illustrated embodiment, a roller or wheel 52 is coupled to eachlower corner of cabinet assembly 12 (e.g., coupled to each corner ofbase member 16) to enable a rolling portability of cart 12. Handles 54may also be secured to doors 50 to facilitate the opening/closingthereof relative to cabinet assembly 12.

As best illustrated in FIG. 2, tabletop 24 includes a left side distalopening 60, a right side distal opening 62, and a medially locatedopening 64 each extending therethrough where opening 64 is disposedbetween openings 60 and 62 relative to a longitudinal direction 66 ofcart 10. In the illustrated embodiment, opening 64 is disposed overstorage cavity 14 while openings 60 and 62 are located outside aperiphery of cabinet assembly 12 (e.g., located exterior to panels 18and 20, respectively). In the illustrated embodiment, each opening 60,62, and 64 is rectangularly-shaped; however, it should be understoodthat openings 60, 62, and 64 may be otherwise shaped (e.g., elliptical,square, round, etc.). In the illustrated embodiment, cart 10 includesreceptacle units 70 and 72 having shapes/configurations complementary torespective openings 60 and 62 such that receptacle units 70 and 72 maybe removably disposed within respective openings 60 and 62. Receptacleunits 70 and 72 may be configured with covers, internal receptacles,etc., according to desired storage functions (e.g., configured as adrink/cup holder, ice chest or cooler, utensil holder, etc.).

Cart 10 also includes a tabletop insert 80 disposable within opening 64.As best illustrated in FIG. 3, in some embodiments, insert 80 is formedof a laminate structure/assembly to facilitate different types ofmaterials on each side thereof. For example, in some embodiments, insert80 may comprise a metallic side 82 (e.g., stainless steel, copper, etc.)and a non-metallic side 84 (e.g., plastic, wood, etc.). It should beunderstood that insert 80 may also be formed from a single material(e.g., a unitary material throughout) or be formed as a laminatestructure having other types of materials (e.g., all metallic, allnon-metallic, etc.).

Insert 80 is reversibly disposable within opening 64 such that side 82or side 84 may be disposed facing upwardly for use thereof by a user ofcart 10. In some embodiments, insert 80 also includes an opening 90extending therethrough near and spaced apart from a distal longitudinalend of insert 80. In some embodiments, opening 90 is located inalignment with and above tray 42 such that opening 90 may be used tofacilitate the removal of objects/debris from an upwardly facing surfaceof insert 80 into tray 42 located beneath insert 80. Thus, for example,if using insert 80 for food preparation, discarded food items may beswept across an upwardly facing surface of insert 80 and into opening90, where such discarded items may be collected by tray 42 (which maythen be removed from cart 10 to dispose the discards). In theillustrated embodiment, opening 90 comprises an elongate openingextending in a lateral direction relative to insert 80 (e.g., sized tocorrespond to an elongate size/shape of tray 42). In the illustratedembodiment, opening 90 p comprises a rectangular shape; however, itshould be understood that opening 90 may be otherwise configured (e.g.,circular, elliptical, square, etc.). Tabletop 24 may be configuredhaving a lip or flange extending about a periphery of opening 64disposed below an upper surface of tabletop 24 at an approximate depthequal to a thickness of tabletop insert 80 such that an upper surface oftabletop insert 80 is disposed flush (i.e., flush or substantiallyflush) with adjacent upper surfaces of tabletop 24 when insert 80 isdisposed within opening 64. However, it should be understood thattabletop 24 and/or insert 80 may be otherwise configured (e.g., insert80 may loosely lay on or be supported underneath by one or more supportcross members of tabletop 24, insert 80 and/or opening 64 may have aseal/grommet disposed about its periphery to facilitate a tight seal/fitbetween adjacent surfaces of tabletop 24 about a periphery of opening 64(e.g., a pressfit assembly) and insert 80, tabletop 24 may have spacedapart tabs about a periphery of opening 64 for supporting insert 80within opening 64, etc.).

In some embodiments, an insert 92 may be removably disposable withinopening 90 of insert 80 to close opening 90 if desired. For example, insome embodiments, insert 92 may comprise a plug or seal formed of arubber or other type of material that may be used to close opening 90when opening 90 is not in use or is not desired to be used.

Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a storage andserving cart 10 that enables a user to reverse sides/surfaces of anupwardly facing surface of the cart 10 to accommodate differentuses/purposes. For example, a user may use one side on insert 80 toaccommodate food preparation and then flip or reverse the orientation ofinsert 80 to have a second, different side facing upwardly toaccommodate a display/service of food items (or other types of objects).Opposite surfaces and/or sides 82,84 of insert may be speciallyconfigured to accommodate a desired purpose (e.g., preparation versusservice). When using insert 80, opening 90 may be used to convenientlyremove objects from an upper surface of insert 80 (e.g., into tray 42disposed under insert 80 and hidden from view being within storagecavity 14).

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and the practical application, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A storage and serving cart, comprising: atabletop; a cabinet assembly including: a base member; and a pluralityof side panels extending from the base member to the tabletop; one ormore doors movably coupled to the cabinet assembly; wherein the basemember, the tabletop, the side panels, and the doors form an internalstorage cavity; and a tabletop insert being a laminate structure havingfirst and second sides each of a different material, the tabletop insertreversibly positionable on the tabletop to have either the first orsecond side facing upwardly from the tabletop.
 2. The cart of claim 1,wherein the tabletop insert comprises an opening formed therethrough 3.The cart of claim 2, further comprising a tray removably positionablebeneath the opening in the tabletop insert.
 4. The cart of claim 2,further comprising another insert removably disposable within theopening of the tabletop insert to close the opening in the tabletopinsert.
 5. The cart of claim 1, wherein the tabletop insert comprises ametallic first side and a non-metallic second side.
 6. The cart of claim1, wherein the tabletop includes an opening disposed over the internalstorage cavity.
 7. The cart of claim 6, wherein the opening in thetabletop extends to a length and a width corresponding to a length and awidth of the internal storage cavity.
 8. The cart of claim 2, whereinthe opening in the tabletop insert is located proximate to the left orright side panel.
 9. A storage and serving cart, comprising: a cabinetassembly having an internal storage cavity; and a tabletop coupled to anupper surface of the cabinet assembly; and a tabletop insert being alaminate structure having first and second sides each of a differentmaterial, the tabletop insert reversibly positionable on the tabletop tohave either the first or second side facing upwardly from the tabletop,the tabletop insert including an opening therethrough.
 10. The cart ofclaim 9, further comprising a tray removably positionable beneath theopening in the tabletop insert.
 11. The cart of claim 9, furthercomprising another insert removably disposable within the opening of thetabletop insert to close the opening in the tabletop insert.
 12. Thecart of claim 11, wherein the opening in the tabletop insert comprisesan elongate opening extending in a lateral direction of the tabletopinsert.
 13. The cart of claim 9, wherein the tabletop extends beyond atleast one side of the cabinet assembly.
 14. The cart of claim 19,wherein the tabletop comprises at least one opening extendingtherethrough.
 15. The cart of claim 9, wherein the tabletop comprises atleast one opening extending therethrough and located beyond at least oneside of the cabinet assembly.
 16. The cart of claim 9, wherein thetabletop insert comprises a metallic first side and a non-metallicsecond side.
 17. A storage and serving cart, comprising: a cabinetassembly including: a base member; and a plurality of side panels; and atabletop insert disposed above an upper surface of the cabinet assembly,the tabletop insert being a laminate structure having first and secondsides each of a different material, the tabletop insert reversiblypositionable to have either the first or second side facing upwardlyfrom the cabinet assembly.
 18. The cart of claim 17, wherein thetabletop insert comprises a first metallic side and a secondnon-metallic side.
 19. The cart of claim 17, wherein the tabletop insertincludes an opening extending therethrough.
 20. The cart of claim 19,further comprising another insert removably disposable within theopening of the tabletop insert to close the opening in the tabletopinsert.